“What do you think makes a good leader?”
This is the question I received recently during a conversation with a co-worker. Somehow our conversation had turned to the topic of effective leadership. My verbal response was “Wow, where do I begin?” However, my first line of thought went to traits. Northouse (2013) suggests that leadership is not a trait that a leader possesses but instead, it is a “transactional event,” (p. 3). This idea is good news for individuals who do not think they are natural leaders. It means that it is possible to learn skills in order to be a successful leader. Despite this line of thinking, I still immediately began thinking of traits that I believed a successful leader should have. I began recalling leaders whom I consider successful that I have come into contact with in the past. One leader in particular stood out.
Jennifer was the leader in a department in the organization I work for. She got along with each member of her group. She was confident, laidback, trusting, and she always had a positive attitude. Each of these traits fit in with the traits that a successful leader is likely to possess, (Northouse, 2013). The five traits that are central to this list are integrity, intelligence, sociability, determination, and self-confidence, (Northouse, 2013). To all of those around her, it seemed as if Jennifer possessed each of these. Integrity is a quality of a person that sense of responsibility for their actions, (Northouse, 2013). Jennifer was honest and would readily admit that she made a mistake. She never passed the blame off to her group members. Intelligence is important for a leader because it can have an effect on problem solving skills, (Northouse, 2013). Jennifer was an excellent problem solver and if she ever came to a stumbling block, she sought assistance. Sociability concerns having social relationships with the individuals in the group, (Northouse, 2013). She made it a point to get to know each member. Determination is the drive to complete the job, (Northouse, 2013). She was good at motivating her team to complete their goals. Self-confidence is the ability to recognize that one’s own competencies, (Northouse, 2013). She was aware that she was good at her job and put her skills to good use.
I believe that Jennifer also possessed a high measure of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence concerns the “ability to understand emotions and apply this to life’s tasks,” (Northouse, 2013, p. 23). A leader with a high level of emotional intelligence can understand the emotions of the team members, their own emotions, and use the emotions to lead effectively. Jennifer was aware of the emotional atmosphere in her department and could sense when there was discord among the members. There is bound to be conflict within a team and if it is not resolved, it could result in the team being less productive. She would approach the situation as soon as possible in attempts to diffuse the tension and create peace among the group.
While leadership is certainly a process that involves both the leader and the followers, traits play an important part in the situation. It is important to decipher a leader’s personality traits in order to determine how well they will work with their followers. The trait approach assumes that a leader that works better with their followers will result in a more successful organization, (Northouse, 2013). Jennifer possessed multiple traits that made her an effective leader and, as a result, her team achieved their common goals.
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (Sixth Edition ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA, United States: Sage Publications, Inc.
Joseph Ronald Scheff says
This was an interesting blog post and made me start to think about leadership traits. Knowing that leadership is a process involving influencing others, without a doubt I agree that anyone can be a leader. I found it interesting that a central theme appeared to be on Jennifer’s Sociability and emotional intelligence. This is a key concept in leadership if you consider that it is an interaction with followers.
The Army has a manual and definition for just about everything. Here they define leadership in Field Manual FM 6-22 as “the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.” (United States, 2006, pp. 1-2) Some of the concepts outlined by the Army began to sound familiar in your blog post. I went to the manual to see what I could find.
Surprisingly, the Army has a section called “Empathy” in the manual. They talk about understanding the impacts to those you are leading. “They ability to see something from another person’s point of view, to identify with and enter into another person’s feelings and emotions, enables the Army leader to better care for civilians, Soldiers, and their families.” (United States, 2006, pp. 4-9) I don’t know about anyone else, but feelings and emotions are not the first thing I think of when considering the Army…but they see it as critical enough to put it in a manual on leadership.
This just reinforced your point on emotional intelligence and being able to connect personally with those that you are leading. This connection is part of the transaction and process of leadership which can be easily forgotten.
Works Cited
United States. (2006, October). Army Leadership: Field Manual 6-22. Washington, D.C., USA: Headquarters, Dept. of the Army.